ANTIOCH — One of the city’s oldest townhome complexes is getting a makeover.

The City Council approved a rehabilitation of the Hudson Townhouse Manor last week, agreeing to keep the 122-unit property across from Somersville Towne Center as low-income housing for an additional 55 years.

Western United Housing Partners, the company buying the near 40-year-old complex, will spend about $3.7 million on renovations such as new roofs, windows, sliding glass doors and kitchen appliances and countertops. Plans include a tot lot and a common area, which can be used to hold after-school tutoring and adult education classes at night, said Nicholas Arthur, the group’s managing partner.

A $600,000 reserve will also be set aside for ongoing retrofitting and maintenance, Arthur said. Improvements will be funded by tax-exempt state bonds for affordable housing.

The group hopes to finish acquiring the property in late summer, Arthur said.

Before unanimously approving the project, Antioch leaders expressed concerns about crime in the area.

Hudson Townhouse Manor, particularly some units in the complex, has had a disproportionately high concentration of police calls for service over the years, City Manager Jim Jakel said.

Tenant applicants will be screened and evicted if they break the law, Arthur said. Additional security cameras and improved fencing around the project will also be installed, said Fernando Huerta, a security consultant for the project.

Lauding the proposal, Councilman Gary Agopian said the key would be how well the property is managed.

“It’s more than just changing the facade or changing out an appliance, but it’s investing in the people that live there and in the neighborhood,” Agopian said. “I think this can be a model for the kind of development we can see in the region.”

Resident Terry Ramus warned the council at the April 26 meeting that some of Antioch’s problem properties started with the same good intentions.

Rehabilitation of the blighted complex is long overdue and could help attract retail in the area, Mayor Jim Davis said.

“If we wouldn’t have gone in that direction, then it’s business as usual,” Davis said.

Councilman Brian Kalinowski expressed concern about extending the affordable housing requirement for 55 years, especially after the first 15 years.

Once the tax credits expire after 15 years, the property could be sold to a new buyer, said Janet Kennedy, Antioch’s housing director. The state and federal programs place many restrictions on low-income housing projects to ensure safe residential conditions, she said.

Long-term extensions of affordable housing projects are common. In 2007, Antioch extended an agreement on the Riverstone Apartments on Sycamore Drive that allowed it to be rehabilitated and remain low-income for 55 years.